1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to configuration of a cooling device used in an image forming device such as a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a laser printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, such an image forming device includes: a sheet-supply unit for supplying sheets on which an image is to be formed; a process unit including a photosensitive drum and a developing device for forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum; an exposure unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum; a transfer unit for transferring the toner image onto a sheet; a fixing unit for thermally fixing the toner image onto the sheet; a drive motor for rotatingly driving components in the above-described units; transmission gears; and a power source for supplying power to a control unit.
The above-described components, such as components related to drive of the device and the power source portion, are mounted in a housing case formed from metal plate or a compound resin. Conventionally, a cooling fan is provided in the housing case in order to cool off heat generated by the power source, the drive motor, the thermal-type fixing unit, and the like. The cooling fan draws air from outside of the device via an inlet vent and discharges the air out of the device via an outlet vent.